Week 18 NFL Game Recaps
Texans 31, Bengals 10
The Bengals also went three-and-out to start because Andy Dalton missed a wide-open Cedric Benson on a 3rd-and-2. It was clear at that point that the team to quit making dumb, mental errors would be the one to prevail. And that was Houston.
Cincinnati continuously shot itself in the foot. Marvin Lewis had one of the worst challenges of all time in the first half when he threw a red flag to review a spot that would have been the difference between 3rd-and-1 and 1st-and-10. It's not like the extra inch he wanted would have prevented a punting situation; he lost the challenge and then promptly moved the chains on the next play. This was a big deal because Lewis challenged again later in the first half. He lost that one as well, giving him no reviews after intermission.
The Bengals also wasted a timeout on the third play of the third quarter because Dalton couldn't hear the play. Houston's crowd did a great job of getting up for its first playoff contest with this new franchise.
Dalton had an up-and-down performance overall. He made some nice throws, and his yardage figures don't account for a 50-yard pass-interference penalty to A.J. Green, who beat Glover Quin. However, Dalton missed some open receivers downfield, and the aforementioned third pick was poorly thrown to Danieal Manning.
First of all, Hammond looked like a clown. Like an actual clown. I don't know what his makeup artists were thinking or trying to hide. Forum member FTM commented, "Is Tom Hammond a puppet from Team America? That is not a human face."
His commentary was more comical, as he mispronounced players' names all night, from Glover Quin to Danieal Manning. He even called Matt Schaub "Matt Shoob." Fortunately, Hammond is done doing football for the year, as he'll be moving on to the boring Olympics next week.
Saints 45, Lions 28
Apparently not. Different game, same result. We can now confirm the Saints are 17 points better than the Lions.
The Saints, however, got their act together in the second half. Brees was unstoppable, going 33-of-43 for 466 yards and three touchdowns. The team didn't even punt. In fact, New Orleans set a playoff record for most net yards in a single game with 626.
Of course, it didn't help the Lions' cause that they continuously blew coverages and whiffed on tackles. It's amazing how many times Brees' targets were open downfield. And I know Detroit struggled versus the run all year, but making Pierre Thomas (8-66, TD) and Chris Ivory (13-47) look like Beast Mode was inexcusable. Thomas also caught six balls for 55 receiving yards.
Giants 24, Falcons 2
Atlanta was 0-for-3 in short yardage in this contest. They went for it on fourth-and-inches on the New York 25 on the first play of the second quarter of a scoreless game. They tried to sneak it, but failed. Luckily, they were still able to establish a lead on an ensuing safety in which Eli Manning was whistled for intentional grounding in his own end zone.
The other two miscues were much more damaging. Down 10-2 at the end of the third quarter, Atlanta attempted another another sneak from the Giants' 20. Ryan was stuffed, and the entire Falcon sideline reportedly was completely deflated. Three plays later, Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 72-yard touchdown, blowing this contest open.
Michael Turner was stuffed on 3rd-and-1 on the ensuing possession. The Falcons had to punt, and New York would find the end zone a few minutes later.
The two New York scores put the game out of reach, but you have to wonder what would have happened if Atlanta opted for the field goals. With two successful kicks, the team would have trailed 10-8, and the players wouldn't have been sulking on the bench.
Remember when I said that Atlanta could have been down 10-8 with two kicks? Well, if Smith used a timeout and his team was able to drive down to field-goal range, the Falcons could have led 11-10 at the end of the third quarter. It's amazing how significant inept coaching decisions can be in an NFL game.
Despite the drops, White still caught five balls for 52 yards. Julio Jones was better statistically (7-64). Poor Tony Gonzalez, who still hasn't won a playoff game in his Hall-of-Fame career, had just four grabs for 44 yards.
1. As I tweeted (@walterfootball), "Congratulations to FOX for the first ever commercial-one play-commercial-punt-commercial series."
Seriously, I can't believe FOX pull this. We often see commercial-kickoff-commercial, but I don't ever recall seeing two plays sandwiched in between three ad breaks.
2. I also tweeted this in the fourth quarter: "Since 1989, only one team has ever finished with 2 points in a game. That was the 1993 Bengals, who lost to the Patriots, 7-2."
Well, you can now add the Falcons into that dubious category.
3. My senior editor pointed out that at one point during the second half, Troy Aikman said, "Matt Ryan incompleted it."
What's up with the grammar issues from all the 90s Cowboy players?
Broncos 29, Steelers 23
No one gave Denver a chance. Bill Simmons, whom I'm a fan of, called the Broncos the worst team to ever make the playoffs. Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson predictably called for a Pittsburgh blowout. Several ESPN and CBS analysts stubbornly opined that they wouldn't even score a touchdown.
That certainly looked like the case when Denver mustered just eight yards of offense in the first quarter. Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy had some of the worst and most predictable play-calling I had ever seen. He called for runs on all three first downs in the opening period, and Tebow was in second-and-long as a result each time.
Things really changed after that though. Just a bit, right? Tim Tebow, whom many suggested could be benched in favor of Brady Quinn because he had struggled the past two weeks, completed many deep, accurate bombs downfield. He had just five completions at halftime, but four of them were for 30, 40, 58 and 41 yards. Not included in that were a Demaryius Thomas drop inside the 5-yard line and an Eric Decker 21-yard apparent catch that was overturned after a Pittsburgh challenge.
The Broncos led throughout, beginning in the second quarter, but it looked like they might lose this playoff battle late in the fourth quarter and overtime. The ironic thing was it would have been everyone's fault but Tebow's. Willis McGahee (19-61) fumbled at midfield prior to Pittsburgh's game-tying drive. The defense struggled to stop a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger, including Champ Bailey, who dropped an interception that went right through his hands right before Big Ben hit Jerricho Cotchery for the tying score.
I was so frustrated on the forums that I half-joked that the Pittsburgh players were idiots for calling tails during the overtime coin toss because it was clear the ref had a two-headed coin.
My playoff 2011 NFL Power Rankings, will be posted Monday morning.
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Charlie
10-17-2011
12:27 pm
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EmmittSmith22 Emmitt Smith
Prayers of piece to da world of Racing. I didnt believe when you "spoke" Emmitt... Damn... it was hard to figure out what he meant! Is he really a college graduate???
Chris
10-17-2011
12:10 pm
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I dont think you can really call Brady's pics ugly, his throwing arm was hit hard on both plays, leading to the ball not having enough power to zip to its target. Other than that, he played as he always had against Rob Ryan... Poorly
Mitch
10-17-2011
11:54 am
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@stine.. no you're just a moron. that was a terrible call. whether he was roughed or not is irrelevant anyways, intentional grounding in the endzone is called a saftey if you didn't know. even if that roughing call was there or not it shoulda been 2 for the skins and the drive nill for the eagles. just face the fact that the Eagles are not that good. they need a turnover machine to give them 4 picks just to stay within a touchdown and squeak out a win in the last few seconds by barely getting a first down. haha
Stine
10-17-2011
10:36 am
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Any helmet to helmet is a personal Foul Walt. I know you are a Vick hater but at least be honest about the calls. Just because you lost the game you blame it on the Refs? How about the Personal Foul Called on Brady in the second half? He was barely pushed and won an oscar for his tumble to the turf! No that was Legit right?
Jason
10-17-2011
04:28 am
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Great recap Walt! How are you doing in your leagues?
joe L
10-15-2011
11:41 am
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matt ryan- up or
big ben- down thanks
Frank
10-10-2011
07:15 pm
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I'm not sure Doug Baldwin is inconsistent.
He's just coming onto his own. He's had 80+ yards three times. The Steeler's game was a complete lost cause. He is the team's leading receiver, and at times looks like the best one. Also Charlie Whitehurst did not look particularly better than Tarvaris. He still locked onto receivers non-stop, but he did make some beautiful throws. Hopefully He gets a full game to start, and show what He can do. Tarvaris is still starter in my opinion though.
Martin
10-10-2011
05:42 pm
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@Mitch - Thanks for a good laugh. If youre going to pontificate and spout off about people being morons, you might want to make sure you actually know what youre talking about.
No one is suggesting that Vick's play on the field has absolved him of his crimes. He was found guilty in a court of law, was sentenced, and served two years in federal prison. He was released on parole and forced to serve an additional suspension by the league. If thats not paying your dues to society, I don't know what is. And this is coming from a Skins fan.
ryan
10-10-2011
04:42 pm
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this is the 2nd time you have said not to pickup doug baldwin in fantasy. i started julio jones yesterday while baldwin was available on waivers. now, who knows if I'll be able to pick him up. darnit.
ayyyy
10-10-2011
04:38 pm
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"James Starks (12-40) had more than double the carries that Grant did (7-18)."
Might want to double check that math..
Mitch
10-10-2011
01:54 pm
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Which makes me think.. what kind of moron would think that he payed his dues? The freakin guy wins a couple football games and he automatically is relieved from the fact that he tortured innocent animals? It's not like he saved 10 babys from a burning building he won a few football games. Man some people are stupid.
Mitch
10-10-2011
01:51 pm
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Well if you're referring to QB Dog Killer you have to say QB Dog Killer because that is the killer of dogs name. Now if he didn't kill dogs and if he didn't change his name to QB Dog Killer then maybe he would have a different name like Mark, or Mary. But that isn't the case and he murdered and tortured innocent dogs.
RobG.
10-10-2011
01:34 pm
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"I'd write something involving clever wordplay with "dream team" and "nightmares," but all of those puns have been exhausted already."
But QB Dog Killer isn't?
Mookie
10-10-2011
01:32 pm
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Doug Baldwin leads the team with 20 catches, 330 yards, and 2 scores and yet he's inconsistent? Dude you're joking. I don't even think he has a drop.
The QBs are inconsistent more than anything. I'd pick him up after the bye!
lolrus
10-10-2011
01:07 pm
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"James Starks (12-40) had more than double the carries that Grant did (7-18)"
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